Pub. 1 2019 Issue 6

Responding to Injuries in theWorkplace N HADA’s WCT Loss Prevention Team does an amazing job of keeping our members safe, but no matter how safe we are, acci- dents will happen … that is why they are called “accidents.” In a perfect world, everyone is trained in first aid and knows what to do when an accident occurs, but the reality is there are a whole lot of people who don’t know what to do. The best practice is to educate all your employees on what to do when an accident occurs. This doesn’t mean everyone needs to be certified in first aid; it just means they all need to know how to respond to the injury. In particular, they need to know the process of reporting the injury and how to get the most appropriate medical care. All workplace injuries need to be taken seriously and cared for appropriately; and they all need to be reported to the designated person in the workplace. Educating your employees on what to do when an injury occurs ensures the injury will be: • Reported to the correct person, whether that is human resources, a supervisor or manager • Documented appropriately with the Employers First Report of Injury; which will then be sent to NHADA — WCT promptly The next two steps are • Calling NHADA — WCT Nurse Case Manager Marta Silakka • Offering timely medical care to the injured worker with the most appropriate level of care or specialty When it comes to medical care, there is a common misconception out there that the MINOR/ACUTE INJURIES • These include but are not limited to: minor lacerations, minor foreign bodies in the eye, strains and sprains. • These should be reported by the injured worker to their supervisor right away. • The Employers First Report of Injury must be completed and then faxed or emailed to Pete and Marta at NHADA. We take care of sending it to the Department of Labor for you. ☐ NHADA — WCT Fax number: 603-224-8126 ☐ Peter Sheffer — claims manager’s email: psheffer@nhada.com ☐ Marta Silakka — nurse case manager’s email: msilakka@nhada.com • A call should be made to Marta at 800-852-3372 to report the injury and discuss the need for medical treatment, with assis- tance in a referral to the most appropriate in-network provider. If Marta is unavailable, Pete can help as well. He can be reached at the same number • With minor/acute injuries there is no need to call 911 or use the emergency room. emergency room is the best place to treat. That is correct for a severe or life-threatening emergency. Seeking medical care in an emergency room for a minor/acute injury clogs up the system, leads to unnecessary time away from work and personal life, and increases the cost of medical care. All patients presenting to an emergency room are triaged. This means they are reviewed for severity and pri- ority. For example, if you present to an emergency room for a minor cut, your wait time may be significant if all the other patients are there for more serious issues. The best rule when responding to an injury at work: ☑ Call Marta! If the injury is not life-threatening, call us first! We will assist with a network referral to the most appropriate specialist and level of care. Did you know that in most cases, we can access specialists on the same day? The following is a breakdown of types of workplace injuries and a simple guide to responding to them: MARTA J. SILAKKA RN, BSN, CCM, COHN-S NURSE CASE MANAGER D R I V E 4